A surfer has suffered lacerations to his hand after a suspected shark attack at Port Macquarie on Thursday evening.

Police said that about 6.15pm, a 26-year-old surfer at Shelley Beach felt something hit his right hand.

When he looked down, he realised he had cuts to his hand and blood on his leg.

The surfer went to Port Macquarie Hospital, where doctors told him the wounds were consistent with a shark bite.

"He did not see a shark and was unaware at the time that he could have been bitten by one," police said.

Police went to the beach after the man's injuries were reported but found nobody in the water. They said where the surfer was hurt, on the northern end of the beach, was fairly isolated and not used by many people.

The man is being treated for puncture wounds to his hand and a laceration to his leg and was expected to be released from hospital on Thursday night.An expert will attend Port Macquarie in a bid to identify the species of shark involved.

The suspected attack follows the death of 19-year-old Zac Young last Saturday afternoon.

The Port Macquarie teen was surfing with three friends at a break known as The Well, north of Coffs Harbour, when he was bitten by a tiger shark.